August 03, 2012

Pixel sailor Jackson Huffman (left) from Roton Point Yacht Club attaches his boat to his club's car trailer under the guidance of his coach, Mark Fesenmeyer.

Talk about a win-win scenario.

Pequot Yacht Club hosted its Pixel regatta July 30-31 attracting sailors from all parts of the Sound. The event featured intense, high-wind racing along with fun on-shore activities, with an environmentally-sensitive mindset throughout.

“The sailors enjoyed everything about this regatta—the beautiful club, the racing, the cool prizes at the dance—everything here was great,” explained Noroton Yacht Club Pixel Instructor Jill Fattibene after the awards ceremony.

Indeed, the racing was certainly top notch at this regatta, as there were a total of 9 races run: 6 on Monday and 3 on Tuesday (races ended around 1:00pm this day).

“There was just the right amount of wind, and there were just the right conditions,” Tim Marx, a competitor in the regatta from Larchmont Yacht Club, said enthusiastically after the last race. “It was really fun.”

“The races went incredibly smoothly, which is how we managed to get in 6 on Monday,” said PRO Ward Jennings.

Another part of the regatta was a party for sailors and coaches on Monday night. The party featured a DJ, as well as games with prizes for the sailors.

“It was a great experience,” commented Brigid Knowles of Larchmont.

“The dance was fun and the food was really good here, so were the nice prizes they had,” Marx chimed in.

Anna-Luisa Brakman (right) of Noroton Yacht Club ties down her mast with the help of her coach, Jill Fattibene.

Throughout all of the racing and festivities at the regatta, the club maintained an environmentally conscious attitude, trying to reduce unnecessary waste and eliminate accidental pollution to the sea water. One of the biggest ways they achieved this was by issuing all competitors double-walled stainless-steel reusable water bottles, therefore eliminating the need for any plastic water bottles, which are costly and often end up in the water because they frequently fall out of boats. Additionally, they used materials cleaner than plastic for the marks.

“I liked how they used eco-friendly material for everything, like the lunch containers and water bottles,” expressed Milly Morin from Black Rock Yacht Club.

“Even though they were making lots of environmental efforts, the quality of the regatta did not get affected,” said Knowles.

The overall winner of the 2-day regatta was the team of Corey Sabia and Lindsay Walsh from Norwalk Yacht Club, while John Ives and John Odeen from Pequot won in the Novice division. Full results are available on the JSA’s website (JsaLis.org).